Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to networking and, more specifically, to service flow mapping in an access network.
Traffic flow specifications (TFS) are used to specify packet filter information that is used for flow mapping. A packet filter is installed and used to determine where to send incoming packets. This is independent of layer 2 protocols. Thus, the filters do not map to an access network that uses layer 2 (the data link layer) to send packets to a mobile station in a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) network. Typically, a certain quality of service (QoS) may be statically configured on a gateway in an access network. Accordingly, when packets are received for the mobile station, a certain QOS is applied as the packets are sent to the mobile station.
The above static configuration includes many disadvantages. For example, in WiMAX networks, a mobile station may roam to different networks. Thus, different gateways may be used to route packets to the mobile station. Accordingly, each of these gateways in the different networks needs to be statically configured to apply the correct QoS for the incoming packets for the mobile station. Because a mobile station may roam anywhere, statically configuring gateways to apply the correct QoS is burdensome and time-consuming.